Pop-rock band Nasty Cherry formed in a somewhat unconventional way. As documented in Netflix’s I’m With The Band: Nasty Cherry, the band were founded by pop sensation Charli XCX.
With two out of its four members having no previous musical experience whatsoever, it is unsurprising that the band used their first two EPs, ‘Season 1’ and ‘Season 2’, to figure out their sound, as they got to know themselves, each other, and their instruments.
At that point in time, the most exciting thing about Nasty Cherry was the unique nature of their come up, rather than the actual music itself. There were some great but rare standout tracks in their early releases and both EPs ultimately left the aftertaste that the band hadn’t quite found their groove yet.
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Finding their sound
Their latest effort, The Movie, was boldly titled in this way because the band were initially planning to release a full-length feature film alongside the EP. This idea is a tribute to the band’s creativity and vision, but at the end of the day, it is their job as a band to focus on releasing music over anything else.
“It is the first song that the band have released where it feels like they have truly found the sound that works for them”
Thankfully, they ultimately decided to prioritise their music, resulting in their best song to date, ‘Her Body’. It is the first song that the band have released where it feels like they have truly found the sound that works for them, and it is undeniably the highlight of the five-track EP. Directed at a cheating ex-lover, it fuses the plethora of contrasting feelings that result from being rejected.
The opening track of the EP ‘Six Six Six’ is driven by its pounding drum beat. Leaning more towards the rock side of the pop-rock genre, the track is catchy due to the memorable repetition of the lyric “Drag me to hell / Drag me to heaven”. It is placed perfectly at the head of the track list to instantly captivate the listeners attention as the women flaunt the rock edge to their overall pop sound.
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Different sides of Nasty Cherry
Elsewhere on the The Movie, tracks such as ‘What’s The Deal’ and ‘All in My Head’ are slower-paced songs with gentle guitar instrumentals, capturing a completely different side to the band. Whilst they are by no means bad songs, they are less ambitious and they don’t have the same attention-grabbing ability as the other songs on the EP.
“The dreamy bridge of ‘All in My Head’ is captivating”
However, despite this, it must be highlighted that the dreamy bridge of ‘All in My Head’ is captivating, as lead vocalist Gabi Bechtel sings: “If the stars ain’t showing, the whiskey ain’t burning / Well, I’m still gonna be your girl / When we both stop growing and they dig us deep / Yeah, I’m still gonna be your girl”. The subtle beauty of these lyrics cements the song as a stand-out track.
‘Lucky’, the final track of the EP, may take a few listens at first but once it grows on you then you will be able to appreciate the sweet sentiment behind the lyrics. Nasty Cherry use the nostalgically-toned track as a chance to appreciate the opportunities that they have been provided with and the people that they have met during their unconventional career so far.
Nasty Cherry are impressive, ambitious, and versatile on The Movie. With an overall run-time of only 13 minutes, each track conveys something different and each serves its own purpose. The EP is an important step for the band as it marks the moment in time where the quality of their music has begun to match the hype surrounding their name.
Gemma Cockrell
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